


Fear Not, Fair Maiden

by Bouncey



Series: In League With Dragons [1]
Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Book Version of the Mountain Scene, But Jaskier neither knows nor cares, Dragons, Dress Up, Everyone Is Gay, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kidnapped Jaskier | Dandelion, Love Confessions, M/M, Non-Human Jaskier | Dandelion, Protective Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, The Bard Teams Up with the Dragon, The Monster Ships It, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Witcher Book References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26146723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bouncey/pseuds/Bouncey
Summary: Geralt reached the base of the stone tower and squinted up. It seemed endlessly tall against the rocky mountainside and the blue of the sky. Jaskier was up there, though, and the dragon was probably nearby. The Witcher had chosen not to wear his armor for this particular rescue mission; it would only make him noisier and this was a battle of the wits. Dragons wanted to be outsmarted, not slain.orA bored dragon from Geralt's past kidnaps Jaskier for a bit of entertainment. With the creature's help (and perhaps even friendship), Jaskier and Geralt finally admit their feelings for one another. Someone remind the bard to write Borch a thank you letter, would you?
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: In League With Dragons [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898683
Comments: 26
Kudos: 434





	Fear Not, Fair Maiden

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thecomfortofoldstorries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecomfortofoldstorries/gifts).



> I can't do another multichapter fic right now with school starting, so I'm going to finish up Labyrinth and add to some of my series instead!
> 
> Hope that's alright with you guys. Still love you all to pieces!
> 
> Etheid is the baby green dragon that Borch rescues in “The Sword of Destiny” book. I thought I’d make that scene more interesting and less sad for everyone by sticking to the book canon version of events for this particular story/universe.

Jaskier woke up somewhere warm and soft and definitely _not_ wrapped in the raggedy blanket he’d fallen asleep with atop his worn bedroll. He groaned in confusion and rose into a sitting position on the soft feather mattress to better wipe the sleep from his bleary eyes. He was sitting on a beautifully carved mahogany bed with four posts and lovely hanging curtains made of pale pink gossamer.

“Where am I?” he yawned to no one in particular. 

_In my tower,_ a voice echoed through his head. The bard leapt from the bed, suddenly alert and terrified of whatever had brought him here. The voice returned, slightly frightened in its own right and clearly looking to soothe. _Don’t panic! I’m sorry! I probably should have introduced myself better. Come to the window, my sweet visitor, and let me say hello!_

“You’re not going to eat me, right?” Jaskier squeaked. 

_Of course not, Jaskier. You’re my guest. That would be highly indecorous of me._

“Monsters with manners. Finally some decent company.” Jaskier made his way confidently out onto the balcony surrounding the tower’s main room and glanced around. “Hello? How do you know my name?”

A large, scaly green head rose over the side of the balcony wall and Jaskier took an involuntary step back. A thin-slit reptilian eye blinked at him. Once. Twice. Then the rest of the dragon’s face and snout appeared. _Do not fret, my dear. You are in no danger at all. I merely wish to see a performance._

“You want me to sing for you?”

_That was not my purpose in stealing you, but I would not be adverse to some music later this evening. I’m sure your Witcher is already on his way here to rescue you._ Jaskier swore he heard the dragon release a deep, dreamy sigh from its steaming nostrils. _Ah, I wonder if he’ll climb the spiral stairs and try to avoid the traps or if he’ll fight me first and scale the outer walls._

“Wait a second,” Jaskier held a finger up. The dragon paused its daydreaming and looked down at its tiny human captive. Well, mostly human from what the dragon’s senses could pick up. Perhaps a bit of dryad in there somewhere. The semi-mortal’s connection to nature was stronger than most; ancient in a way that drew the dragon to him in the first place. Well, that and the handsome, white-haired Witcher who kept the bard close to his side like a favorite puppy. “You kidnapped me so that you could _watch_ Geralt _rescue me_?”

The dragon’s enormous snout bobbed up and down as it nodded. The bard leaned heavily against the balcony’s edge and released a series of hysterical giggles. _Are you alright, Jaskier?_

“ _How_ do you know my name?”

_You met my godfather, once. Borch._

“Oh, you’re the baby green dragon!” Jaskier perked up. This was an old friend, then. “My, how you’ve grown.”

_And my, how you haven’t,_ the dragon observed. If the bard didn't’ know any better it appeared as if the creature was raising its eyebrow at him. _You don’t seem to have aged a day._

“Haven’t I?” Jaskier glanced down. “Perhaps I’m just remarkably well preserved.”

_Magic_ , the dragon shrugged. _Anyway that is not my purpose here. I’ve grown bored with my usual antics and wish for something better._

“So you thought you’d make up some entertainment by bard-napping me?”

_Correct_.

“This is like a play, then? I’ve been given the part of Fair Maiden and Geralt has been cast as our White Knight? My Prince Charming, as it were?”

_Yes, although you find Geralt’s animalistic tendencies and Witchery nature more alluring than any fairy-tale prince or wayward knight._

“Hey! Hands off my private, personal thoughts,” Jaskier cried, waving his arms at the dragon as if the gesture might sever their mental link. The dragon huffed out what may have been a laugh.

_I cannot help myself, I apologize. My name is Etheid, by the way. So you can stop referring to me in your mind as Baby Dragon I Held Once._

“Sorry,” Jaskier shrugged. He laughed again, this time genuinely. “Do you think Geralt really loves me enough to come rescue me from an _entire dragon_? He knows you can’t be beaten with one or two flimsy swords.”

_He is determined to find you_ , Etheid replied. _He will be here in two days time._

“So until he shows up do I just...sing for you, then? Is there any food? Oh, is there a bath!?”

_You’re the most eager and friendly guest I’ve ever had_ , Etheid rejoiced. _There’s food aplenty in the cupboard in your room. Wine, too. I also have bathwater ready at your request and I can heat it to whatever temperature you like. I even have_ costumes _!_

“ _Costumes_!?” The bard beamed widely and clapped his hands together beneath his chin. He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet and even spun in a quick circle. “What kinds of costumes!? Is this going to be a tragic rescue? Is this going to be dramatic and romantic? You mentioned traps, what kinds of traps will Geralt be facing if he comes up the stairs?”

_Eager to see your handsome Witcher again?_

“Eager to make sure that he isn’t injured trying to save me from your lovely tower, here.”

_He will be absolutely fine. These traps were made for squires to outsmart; he’s a Witcher._

“If he loved me as I love him,” Jaskier sighed wistfully, “Then this would be even more fun.”

Etheid considered telling Jaskier the truth about his Witcher’s romantic feelings for a moment but figured that it was Geralt’s job to do so, instead. The dragon could wait. The dragon could write such a fantastical scene that Geralt would have no other option but to admit his feelings to the jovial and kindhearted bard. 

_There are dresses, of course, but there are some lovely robes as well. You can take whatever you like from the chest at the end of the bed._

“You’re going to regret saying that!”

_Go ahead. Do what human things you must. I’ll heat the water and be on my way; dragons need to eat, too._

“No pesky villagers, please. Stick to wild animals so long as I’m your guest?”

_I am not a heathen,_ Etheid scoffed. _Deer only for now. The forest is fat with them._

“Excellent. See you after dinner and a bath, then. I’ll sing you some lovely ballads.”

_About your White Wolf?_

“I wouldn’t exactly say that he’s _my_ White Wolf,” the bard blushed. “But yes, songs about Geralt.”

* * *

Geralt reached the base of the stone tower and squinted up. It seemed endlessly tall against the rocky mountainside and the blue of the sky. Jaskier was up there, though, and the dragon was probably nearby. The Witcher had chosen not to wear his armor for this particular rescue mission; it would only make him noisier and this was a battle of the wits. Dragons wanted to be outsmarted, not slain.

Geralt remembered Borch Three Jackdaws fondly, the golden dragon that had shown him such kindness and taught him that not all monsters were to be feared. Well, Borch hadn’t so much _taught_ Geralt about the nature of monstrosity so much as he had _reinforced a previously held belief._

But that didn’t matter now. As he slid into the passage that led to the tower stairs his only focus was his stupid bard’s physical safety. 

_No, Geralt,_ the Witcher corrected himself firmly. _He is not_ your _bard, he is merely a traveler who chooses to spend some of his free time dallying about with you. He likes writing songs about your adventures and that is all._

He could hear the sound of a lute growing slightly stronger as he ascended, and kept his eyes peeled for any sort of traps or pitfalls. He sidestepped two swinging axes with ease and ducked beneath a flying crossbow bolt as simply as he breathed. This tower was for amateurs, not highly trained Witchers with unparalleled senses. Not the most graceful Witcher the Wolf school had ever turned out onto the path. Not Geralt of Rivia, _Jaskier’s Witcher_. 

* * *

Jaskier stopped singing suddenly and set his lute to the side, as planned. He laid himself out as Etheid had suggested, the white cotton robe pooling around his bare legs and spilling rather nicely off his left shoulder. He’d cinched a soft blue ribbon _just so_ around the curves of his waist. His hair was ruffled just the way Geralt liked it; the way it was when he saw the Witcher’s gloved fingers twitch at his sides, clearly aching to touch him but too afraid to make a move.

_He’ll have to make a move this time,_ Etheid said. Jaskier could hear the smile in the dragon’s words. _Get in position! He’s nearly to your room, Jask!_

“Jaskier!” the Witcher cried, bursting through the door only a moment later. The bard could sense Etheid just outside the window, hidden by a thin curtain that hung from the back of an ENORMOUS four-poster bed. Geralt was too excited to find his precious bard safe to care about the looming threat.

“Geralt! You came for me!”

“Of course I did,” Geralt rolled his eyes. “You’re always getting yourself into trouble.”

_Ugh, you’re so right. He’s horrible with romance._

Jaskier stifled a smile but Geralt caught it anyway. 

“What’s so funny, bard?”

“My captor doesn’t find your rescue speech very romantic or amusing,” he said, pulling the curtain aside. Etheid’s large blue eyes were focused on the scene, waiting for something good to happen. The dragon had been bored for so long and he’d heard so much from Borch about this White Wolf and his loyal, loving bard. Jaskier whispered the next line as if Etheid wasn't’ supposed to be hearing it, “Perhaps you should make our little reunion more flowery?”

“Jaskier, I - uh,” Geralt swallowed hard and took a step forward. _Might as well go for it,_ the Witcher thought. “I’m so glad that I made it back to your side in time. I’m so glad that you’re unharmed.”

“I knew you’d come for me,” Jaskier sighed, holding out his hand. Geralt stepped even closer, leaning down to press his lips against the petal-soft skin of Jaskier’s knuckles. The bard blushed softly and Geralt felt his own face heating up to match. “You always save me, even from the worst situations.”

“I always will.”

The Witcher had admitted his greatest secret aloud before he could stop himself and he watched the bard’s eyes widen even further. Geralt’s brand of gruff sincerity was unmistakable. 

“Geralt,” the younger man grinned, tears gathering in the corners of his perfect, cornflower blue eyes, “I knew you loved me back.”

“You mean...?”

“Of course, silly,” the bard laughed, throwing himself up off the mattress and into Geralt’s arms. “I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you brooding at that tavern in Posada!”

“Oh Jaskier,” the Witcher gasped. His lips found the side of his bard’s pale neck and out on the balcony Etheid released a happy, contented huff. “I would give anything and everything to know that you were safe.”

“My sweet Witcher,” Jaskier leaned back, cupping Geralt’s face between his hands. His weight was now being entirely supported by the thick arm wrapped around his waist and he reveled in the strength of his beloved before leaning up to kiss him. “Then you must know how I feel every time you leave me on a hunt. Or go to fight with Yennefer about something silly.”

The Witcher could only press their foreheads together and breathe in the happy, rain-shower scent of his Jaskier. “Hmm.”

_Excellent, yes! I can’t wait to tell Borch and my friends about this!_ Etheid cheered _. Congratulations, Jaskier! I’m so happy for you!_

“Thank you,” the bard murmured. 

“Hmm?” Geralt hummed again, raising an eyebrow. Jaskier pulled his head away and shook it. 

“Don’t worry about it. Are you getting me out of here or not?”

“Can you walk in this getup? Will the dragon just let us go?”

Jaskier shot a curious glance towards Etheid, who nodded.

_Tell him you can’t walk, though. I want to see him carry you off to his horse and ride away with the white robe flapping in the wind. Maybe he’ll even wrap his arms around you from behind to keep you safe. Like a real princess._

“No, I can’t walk in this silly thing at all. Keeps getting tangled around my ankles; I’d probably fall down the stairs and kill myself.

Geralt swept the younger man up into his arms and grabbed his lute from its place on the floor. “Well, we can’t have that.”

“No, my Witcher,” the bard replied with a contented smile. “We can’t have that at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know which series needs more love! I'd love some feedback.


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